Lisbon School Forced to Close Due to Safety Hazards After Years of Neglect

Safety Crisis at Lisbon's Rainha Santa Isabel School

A primary school in Lisbon's Campo de Ourique neighborhood has been forced to close due to serious safety concerns following persistent rainfall that triggered fire alarms and electrical problems. The Escola Básica Rainha Santa Isabel will remain closed on Monday as authorities address the dangerous conditions.

Electrical Hazards Force Emergency Evacuation

On Friday, persistent rainfall caused water infiltration that triggered fire alarms during lunchtime while children were in the cafeteria. School officials were unable to deactivate the alarms without shutting down the entire electrical system, forcing them to call parents to pick up their children immediately.

Mafalda Ambrósio from the Parents' Association told Lusa news agency: "We received information that firefighters were on site and indicated that for safety reasons, the school will not open until repairs are made. For now, it's known that children will not have school on Monday."

Years of Neglected Maintenance

The school has been operating in temporary modular buildings since 2021, with approximately 160 students who were supposed to return to their original building on Santa Quitéria Street this academic year. However, renovation work that began five years ago remains incomplete.

Parents allege that both the Lisbon City Council and Campo de Ourique Parish Council have completely failed in their maintenance responsibilities. The Parents' Association spokesperson emphasized: "What really concerns us here is all the negligence that occurred, because this could have been avoided if there had been proper maintenance of the modular buildings."

Escalating Problems and Blame Game

The situation began deteriorating in February of last year when significant water infiltration made one of the kindergarten classrooms unusable. At that time, children had to be relocated to the teachers' lounge until the issue was resolved.

This autumn, the problem resurfaced with even greater severity. Investigation revealed that the installed drainage pipes are insufficient for proper water runoff, requiring additional intervention.

According to the Parents' Association, the City Council had requested the Parish Council to clean gutters and roofing to ensure proper drainage function. However, the Parish Council cleaned all roofs except those covering the gymnasium and support room - precisely where Friday's rainfall caused the water infiltration that led to the current crisis.

Uncertain Future for Students

The spokesperson expressed frustration about the ongoing blame-shifting: "There's a pushing of responsibilities between whether it's the City Council's responsibility or the Parish Council's, and nobody actually takes responsibility for having 160 children in a school who need to be safe and have conditions for a healthy, normal school year."

Regarding the original school building, parents say they have "absolutely no information" about when renovations will be completed. Initial projections indicated a September opening, then December of this year, but recent communications suggest even Easter might be optimistic.

The school serves two kindergarten classes and five primary school classes, all now facing uncertainty about their educational continuity.